Cross Country and Cross Roads
by nattersfluff
Summary: Juvia's first semester of uni has left her depressed and discouraged. On her drive back home for winter break, an unexpected burst of excitement encourages her to take her life into her own hands, along with a steering wheel. Gruiva, Street Racer AU Multi Chap


The endless asphalt whizzed by beneath the tires of Juvia's car. There were fields of corn and wheat as far as her eyes could see. Kansas, a true Farmville.

Juvia was making the long and tiresome journey from the Texan Gulf Coast all the way up to her hometown in Colorado. By car. Any normal person would have purchased a plane ticket and saved 2 days of their lives and of their winter break, but Juvia had never considered herself normal anyway. Not that she was in any great hurry to be home. Who was there to see? Well no, she shouldn't be so pessimistic, Gajeel would be waiting for her, providing his quirky company and a place to crash… but no family. Though she longed for a familiar, friendly face, Juvia couldn't lift her spirits quite high enough to look forward to their reunion.

Her first semester of college had been less than stellar. For years Juvia had dreamed of studying on the coast, her fascination with the ocean and its hidden strength drawing her down from the rocky slopes of Colorado, but how could it be, that with seemingly everything falling into place, she had managed to do everything wrong?

Juvia attended a large university with several thousand students, she was bound to make SOME friends right?! Well the students at Phantom had given her a warm greeting alright. Perhaps she had been too eager, she mused. Phantom's School of Lords was a major party school with a capitol P, holding a record of delinquency and unlawful conduct; not quite her cup of tea. Still, she proudly bore the PL decal on her car, for she loved the campus and location.

In her eagerness to make friends, Juvia dabbled in the party scene. The frat boys had eagerly invited the busty bluenette to many a happening, but after just one fateful evening, the invitations had ceased...

Juvia shuddered at the memory, pinching the bridge of her nose. If only she had responded more kindly, or with more apology! Maybe then her connection to the social scene wouldn't have been so completely severed! Juvia the kill joy, the nerd who came to college to learn! She tried her hardest to push thoughts of that evening out of her brain, but her mind drifted to still more dismal things. After that terrible night, which she would refuse to recall in detail, Juvia had found it extremely difficult to make friends, sinking into a depression. Her only companions were the crashing waves of the gulf, her only solace; the sound of the sea. She visited the beach almost every day, even on rainy occasions she could be seen walking in the shallow surf, watching her foot prints wash away. Juvia the loner, the rain woman.

Eyes focused intently on the road in-front of her, she tried, in vain, to hold back a sob. She loved her studies, loved being a Marine Biology major, but the loneliness ached, and this lonesome road only reminded her of how truly isolated she was. Not another soul could be seen on the interstate. It seemed her only true companion was her car.

Oh how she loved her car. Hands gliding over the smooth leather of the steering wheel, Juvia's spirits lifted just a touch. Her parents had left her quite a sum of money, and she had used it for tuition… and her sweet ride. The charcoal gray Mustang hummed beneath her, gliding along the interstate with a power and grace that she deeply envied. Sometimes she liked to imagine the coal black tires and dark gray body of the car melding and becoming one with pavement, stretching on in every direction, reaching out far and wide to new places. The thought calmed her considerably.

"Juvia really is a strange person." She sighed aloud to herself. What kind of person is consoled by such strange things? She checked her speed, diligently remaining at just a smidge below the speed limit, exactly as she liked.

"How boring of Juvia," she mused to herself, shifting in her seat. To own such a muscled, capable car and drive the limit. Biting her lip, she had a new idea. Slowly she reached out and rested her hand on the side window toggle, tapping it curiously. She WAS going 75 miles an hour, and with a wind-chill of 15 degrees at that… driving with the windows down would mean havoc for her hair. Just imagining the crazy tangles she'd have to tame her blue tresses back down to was almost enough to make her snatch back her hand, but then a second thought stopped her. The soul achingly lonely days left alone in her dorm, where she had yearned to feel free and happy, to feel alive. She would be making some changes in her life, starting today!

With her mind made up, Juvia toggled down the window's switch and watched her side window lower. She was instantly hit with a deafening blast of freezing cold air, sweeping her hair into a storm of blue locks and stinging her cheeks with icy gusts of wind. She could hear the rumble of her engine and nothing else as the gale drowned out her radio. With fingers shaking with cold Juvia gripped the wheel until her knuckles turned pink, and then white. It felt as though ice water was coursing through her veins and waking up her tired heart, tickling her fingertips with tingles, and sending goosebumps over her arms. She blinked her bangs out of her eyes and swiped at hair in her mouth until the bulk of her mane was blown behind her. She felt weightless in the numbing winter breeze, like she was flying, and soon she found laughter bubbling up her throat. Giggling at the insanity of the situation she was surprised to find tears in the corners of her eyes. So far removed from her problems, it was easier to put her life back in perspective. Quickly blinking to keep her tears at bay, she resolved to herself that she would no longer cry in her isolation, would face her adversity, and only shed tears when she was truly happy.

"Easier said than done, Juvia," she mused aloud. No matter.

With fingers shaking from the cold, and eyes smarting from the strong current of winter air, she reached up and brushed away the tiny droplets, fixing her gaze on the horizon, on her future. Smiling brightly and giggling again slightly she decided she would build her happiness with her own two hands, one little change at a time, one—

"HoLY SHI-"she exclaimed, blinking rapidly as a bright yellow Camaro passed her on the left. How had she not seen it coming?! She was normally such an attentive driver! Well… this was a strange day for her she admitted to herself. They must have been driving at break-neck speeds to sneak up on her like that! There had been no one in the horizon behind her just a minute ago! Taking her palm and firmly popping herself on the cheek, she resolved to be more attentive to her surroundings, speaking of which…

She looked up in disbelief as the Camaro in the left lane slowed down, gradually drifting back until the two cars were neck and neck. Frantically glancing between the road ahead and the car next to her, her imagination ran wild. An acquaintance of hers maybe? No, Juvia knows no one that well anyway... Maybe it was an off duty cop whom was pulling her over for- she glanced at the speedometer- going 2 miles over! Or this would be one of those drive by shootings she heard about on the news! She was going to die here, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by corn!

Before she could travel any further with that train of thought, her heart stammered in her chest as the passenger window of the Camaro rolled down to reveal the driver, a total stranger. A totally handsome, god-like stranger. Staring right at her with playful, dark eyes. His dark hair ruffled around his face with the gusts from the open window, and he had a single, strong arm casually draped over the wheel, his lips forming words she couldn't hear. Shit, she hadn't been paying attention, what did he say? He couldn't possibly expect her to hear him over the wind and dual engine clamor!

"What!?" she mouthed back at him, still in shock, was this happening? She watched intently for his reply.

'What. Tour. Ace.' ? Well, that couldn't be right. What on this earthly body was happening right now? She continued to stare, completely dumbfounded, brows knit together.

He rolled his eyes and tried again, 'Want. To. Race?' he mouthed again, revving the Camaro to get the message across and cocking an amused eyebrow at her bewildered expression.

Race? What even? She whipped her head to the right, looking out her passenger window to make sure he wasn't talking to someone in the corn fields. Nope, just as the past couple hours had revealed, Juvia was the only soul to be found among the grains. Turning back to the handsome stranger, in a last ditch effort, she jabbed a finger at herself and mouthed,

'Me?'

Both of the man's brows lowered and he looked at her with amusement and nodded slowly.

'Yes. You.' He accentuated the words slowly, driving the message home with a definite point in her direction on the last word.

Juvia's cheeks puffed up and her already rosy, wind-bitten complexion grew even redder. Was he mocking her?! Her mind was flying in a thousand different directions. This breathtakingly attractive man was challenging her to a race. She knew she had decided to take action and make changes in her life only minutes ago, but a street race? Really? Although the thought was exciting to entertain, she knew her way behind the wheel… no way. She wasn't ready for this kind of change.

Looking back to the man, she watched as he raised his brow once again, waiting for her reply. Biting her lip she prepared to shake her head and respond a simple 'no'. How could she participate in a race when she never even broke the speed limit? Glancing at the horizon ahead of her, she decided that next time this happened she'd take the opportunity, and show this cocky man his place; in the dust of her Mustang, but right now she was good. Glancing back one last time, she met his eyes and he gave her a sinful, panty dropping smirk. Then he stuck his tongue out at her.

Ohhh. That's it. He'll have it his way then. She could handle this arrogant man, he had another thing coming.

With fire in her eyes she met his gaze and nodded

'You. Are. Going. Down' accentuating the 'you' with a jab in his direction and the 'down' with another, toward the ground. How she had managed not to crash her car during this exchange was beyond her.

His brows shot up in surprise but his expression quickly settled into a determined half smile. He held up a hand with his five digits separated. 5

He lowered his thumb. 4

Oh my god, this is happening

3

This is too much change. Too much change, too fast. She imagined the sea receding from her, into the distance. Regret filled her mind too late. Time to commit

2

Her eyes widened, fighting to see through the storm of her hair. She leaned back in her seat, gripping the wheel at ten and two.

1

He held up a closed fist, bringing it back in a short pump toward his chest and extending it forward, his index and thumb in the shape of an L

Go

Juvia gunned it, flooring the pedal and feeling her body sink into her seat with the inertia shock of the acceleration, the deafening roar of her engine firing up her heart and boiling her blood. Her eyes flashed to the lane next to hers to see him pulling ahead. Oh hell no. She stomped on the clutch and wrenched her stick into the specialty gear that Gajeel had put in for her (Just in case, gihi). That's right, bet you weren't expecting Juvia to have fuel injection, were you handsome stranger?

Pulling ahead of him, Juvia swerved into the left lane, cutting him off. Watching him in the rear view mirror, the bright yellow car swerved right and was quickly coming up her side. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. Glancing at the speedometer she saw that they were quickly coming up on 120 mph. Her conscience cried out in retaliation, but her heart was on fire with passion. Faster. Unable to bare the wind she rolled up her window and continued her attack.

The corn fields were a blur. The two cars wove around each other in a dance of storm cloud gray and sunshine yellow, gaining ground only to lose it during gear changes or breaking to avoid a collision.

"Who is this person that Juvia is racing?!" she thought excitedly. Her mind was pumping just as fast as her engine. When will the race end? How will we declare a winner? Juvia wonders if she'll get money! Oh! What if he's bitter or violent about losing?! Too many things to worry about. Her thoughts whirled.

Then in the distance she saw a sight that made her fiery blood run cold.

A low white car, "discretely" nestled in a ditch. It couldn't be.

She slammed on the breaks, and moments later, so did the Camaro.

No no no no no no no! Right as the two raced past the cop she checked her speed. 92 in a 75.

This isn't happening no, no ,no.

Blue and red lights appeared in her rear view mirror.

"Shit, shit, no! This is not happening to Juvia!" Her knees felt week as she continued to decelerate. Tears pricked at her eyes. She should have known something like this would happen. Juvia is not allowed beautiful fleeting moments with beautiful strangers. She's not in a novel or a movie, she doesn't deserve those things. She watched as the stranger pulled to a stop directly behind her. At least they were in this together?

Twisting in her seat, Juvia looked at the car behind her. Her heart skipped a beat to find the man in the Camaro was staring right at her, his curious eyes meeting her frightened ones. She quickly plopped down, facing forward again, holding her flaming cheeks. There had been curiosity in his eyes, yes, but also something else…frustration?

The cop leisurely strolled down the road, stopping at the Camaro behind her first. From her mirror, Juvia could tell the man was especially short with white tufts of hair sticking out from beneath his thick winter cap. He was just barely level with the Camaro's window. A little relieved by the man's none threatening stature, she watched him pull out a pad aaaaand proceed to write a ticket. Her heart sunk.

When the man arrived at her window, surprise was evident on his face.

"I'll be honest Ma'am, I was expecting another young man behind this wheel."

Smiling sheepishly Juvia tried to quell her shame and embarrassment, "Juvia is sorry to disappoint."

After giving her information to the officer and affirming that this was her first offence, she was left with a rather hefty ticket, but, it could have been worse. Sighing deeply Juvia watched officer Makarov drive away and looked in her mirror, prepared for the bittersweet of witnessing her partner in crime drive his yellow sunbeam out of her life, but instead she dropped her jaw.

She whipped around to see the man stepping out of his car and stroll casually up to her window. In nothing but jeans and a tank. It was 23 degrees out, Christ's sake!

She watched with wide blue eyes as he leaned down on her now open window. The puffs of her breath mingled with his. There was something so mischievous and dangerous in his eyes, she couldn't look away. He seemed to be reading her, deciding something. Then in a moment, his cool demeanor was gone and was replaced with an awkward grin and he straightened out, scratching the back of his neck.

"I'm so sorry about this, I goaded you on, it's my fault."

All she could do was blink and stare.

"Erm…let me make it up to you?"

Another blinking session. All she could muster was an intelligent, "Eh?"


End file.
